No spacesuits needed in new lunar rover

Inside NASA’s Small Pressurized Rover, astronauts would need no spacesuits. But to go outside, they would have to slip through special hatches into spacesuits mounted on the outside of the vehicle

(Image: NASA)

NASA unveiled a new lunar rover on Friday that aims to transform space exploration by allowing astronauts to roam large distances without cumbersome spacesuits when they return to the Moon by 2020.

A team of scientists is testing the Small Pressurized Rover Concept vehicle, which resembles a small, futuristic recreational vehicle mounted on six sets of wheels. The trials are taking place in a rocky, barren corner of northern Arizona, selected for its similarities to the surface of the Moon.

“This is the next generation of lunar exploration,” said NASA’s Doug Craig, as an astronaut took the vehicle for a spin over a broad lava field framed by craggy mountains.

NASA hopes to build a permanent human base on the Moon’s surface as a prelude to subsequent exploration missions to Mars.

The new pressurised rover follows on from vehicles used by the Apollo series of Moon shots in the early 1970s. Then, astronauts in spacesuits used rovers that looked like stripped-down jeeps to make short forays to gather rocks.

The new prototype has a pressurised cab and is fitted out with leather seats and bunks. It would allow a crew of two astronauts to take extended exploration trips for up to two weeks at a time, covering distances of up to 1000 km, Craig said.

Special hatches

The crew would not wear spacesuits while in the vehicle, which is fitted with large windows offering extensive views of the terrain. But to step outside, they would slip into spacesuits mounted on the outside of the vehicle through special hatches in the rover, officials said.

“You are only in a spacesuit when you need to be on the surface picking up rocks,” said astronaut Mike Gernhardt, a veteran of four space shuttle missions and a pioneering spacewalk, as he took reporters for a spin in the rover.

“So all the time that you are doing observations . . . you can be inside the pressurised environment in a comfortable, warm, shirt-sleeve environment instead of in a spacesuit,” he added.

Aside from its increased range, Gernhardt said the vehicle is much safer and more comfortable than earlier Apollo rovers taken to the Moon.

“It really enables much more exploration, much more productivity, and frankly (it’s) a lot safer than we had when we went on the Apollo programme,” he said. “This is the future.”